Aroma hops favored by craft and specialty breweries are being planted more by farmers to keep up with the demand.

Craft and specialty beer brewers make up only 10 percent of the overall U.S. beer market but they are changing the type of hops being grown, according to Hop Growers of America.

The hops harvest is under way right now in the Pacific Northwest and more aroma-type hops are being grown than ever before, said Ann George, administrator with the Washington state-based Hop Growers of America. Craft and specialty brewers account for 20 percent of the hops sales, she said.

Hops are the dried seed cone that gives beer its bitter taste and aroma.

“We have started to see a shift in our varieties,” George said. “In the last five years we have seen a shift into the more flavorful varieties that are preferred by craft brewers.”

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